This Broadbeach Shopper Survey listening test page gives you Section 1 of Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 4 in full: the official answer key for Questions 1–10, playable audio, an explanation for every question that quotes the exact transcript line proving it, and the complete recording script. The recording is a street survey of one shopper, tested through a single form completion task that asks for ONE WORD ONLY in each gap.

Martyn’s surname arrives letter by letter, his bus journey is swapped for two wheels, and the traps are his usual habits rather than today’s facts. Predict the word class of each gap before the audio starts with the technique of predicting answers before you hear them, then set each mark against the complete Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 4 answers page, which covers all four sections of the paper.

Listening Audio — Section 1

Play the recording once, without pausing, and answer Questions 1–10 before you check the key. In the real exam you hear each section exactly once.

Questions 1–10

Questions 1–10

Complete the form below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

Finds the service in shops is excellent

Broadbeach Shopper Survey Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

Broadbeach Shopper Survey Answer Explanations

1. Leigh — the form already prints the first name Martyn, so the gap needs the family name, and the man corrects the interviewer with “It’s L-E-I-G-H”. The trap is her guess “is your family name spelt L-double-E?”, and “Martyn’s with a Y” warns you not to write the first name instead. The key spells the surname Leigh, with -eigh after the L.

2. motorbike — the form records today’s journey, and the man explains “but I’m on my motorbike today because I’m going to work later”. “normally I catch the bus” is the trap, because the bus is his habit rather than today’s transport, and the answer must be one word: motorbike.

3. hairdresser — the first purpose listed for the trip is where he has just been, and he says “I’ve just been to the hairdresser”. The council interview that follows is a future appointment rather than a place visited today, so hairdresser fills the first gap, and the spelling doubles the -er.

4. suit — the second purpose is an item he is about to shop for: “now I’m on my way to buy a suit that I can wear to the interview”. Interview and council name the occasion, not the purchase, so the missing noun is suit.

5. laptop — the third purpose is a collection after repair, and he says “I’ve got to go and pick up my laptop”. The broken spare part is the trap: “They had to order a spare part” describes the repair, while the item collected is the laptop.

6. Monday — the interviewer offers Saturday as the shopping day and he rejects the link: “it’s more a question of when I’m free”. The preferred day follows immediately: “If I’m free on a Monday, that’s when I choose to come into town”. Saturday is today’s date, Monday the preference, and the key prints the full word.

7. coffee — the form reads Thinks there are too many places selling ……, and the man confirms “there are a lot of new coffee shops now”, adding “there are too many of them”. The gap needs the product rather than the word shops, so one word answers it: coffee.

8. books — the form asks what he would like more places to buy, and he rules out fashion first: “I think we have enough clothing shops”. The wish follows: “there’s only one place that sells books at the moment”, so more bookshops are wanted and the answer is books.

9. plants — the form asks what he likes best about the out-of-town centre, and he says “my favourite thing is the plants they’ve put around the building”. The glass roof is the trap: “The glass roof is certainly impressive” praises a different feature, but the favourite is the plants.

10. cinema — the form records what he believes is unnecessary at the new centre, and asked about entertainment he answers “I can’t see any advantage in having it there because the one in town is actually bigger”. The item itself comes from the interviewer’s prompt “Like the new cinema?”, so the gap takes cinema.

Listening Transcript — Section 1

WOMAN: Good morning. I’m doing a survey of shoppers in Broadbeach. Would you have a few minutes to spare to answer some questions?

MAN: Oh…erm…yes, I guess that would be ok.

WOMAN: Thank you very much. Everybody seems so busy today.

MAN: Well actually I don’t have loads of time, so…

WOMAN: Oh yes, of course. It really won’t take long. Could I start by taking your name please?

MAN: Martyn Leigh. Martyn’s with a Y.

WOMAN: And is your family name spelt L-double-E?

MAN: It’s L-E-I-G-H.

WOMAN: Thank you. We don’t actually publish your name or details. It just makes it easier for me to identify people when I look at all the results at the end.

MAN: I see.

WOMAN: And can I ask, how did you get into town today?

MAN: Well, normally I catch the bus, but I’m on my motorbike today because I’m going to work later.

WOMAN: And could you tell me what you’re doing this morning, I mean, the reason for your trip into town?

MAN: I’ve just been to the hairdresser. You see, I have a job interview at the council in a few days.

WOMAN: Oh really! Well, good luck with that.

MAN: Thanks a lot. And now I’m on my way to buy a suit that I can wear to the interview. I don’t actually own one at the moment!

WOMAN: OK. Is that everything you’re planning to do in town?

MAN: Yeah. Well, I’ve got to go and pick up my laptop. It broke a couple of days ago so I took it to the shop to get it fixed. They had to order a spare part, but apparently it’s ready for collection now. I can’t wait to get it back.

WOMAN: I’m sure. I hate it when my technology breaks down. …One more thing, it’s Saturday today – is that when you like to do your shopping?

MAN: Well it’s more a question of when I’m free. If I’m free on a Monday, that’s when I choose to come into town. The shops are less busy then, which I always prefer.

WOMAN: So, I’d like to ask you a few more questions to get your views about shopping in Broadbeach, if that’s ok.

MAN: Sure. What would you like to know specifically?

WOMAN: What would you say you like best about the shops here?

MAN: I’d probably say it’s the service you get wherever you go.

WOMAN: OK. And what do you think about the range of shops in Broadbeach?

MAN: Oh you can get almost anything you want here.

WOMAN: And what about recent changes? What do you like and dislike about them? For example, there are a lot of new coffee shops now, are you enjoying them?

MAN: No, there are too many of them. It’s a shame as those places could be occupied by other kinds of shops.

WOMAN: What would you like to see instead?

MAN: Well, I think we have enough clothing shops. But there’s only one place that sells books at the moment. It’d be nice to have a choice, you know.

WOMAN: Right. And have you been to the new shopping centre outside Broadbeach yet, Martyn?

MAN: Yes, once or twice. It’s not that far from where I live.

WOMAN: It’s a very modern-looking building, isn’t it?

MAN: Yes, and it’s lovely. The glass roof is certainly impressive. But my favourite thing is the plants they’ve put around the building. They’re amazing, and so big already.

WOMAN: And what about the entertainment facilities? Have you used any of them yet? Like the new cinema?

MAN: Nah, not yet. I can’t see any advantage in having it there because the one in town is actually bigger.

WOMAN: OK, well thank you so much for…

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Respect the single word limit across all ten gaps: the instruction reads Write ONE WORD ONLY, so a motorbike fails for Question 2 and new cinema fails for Question 10. Fix the limit in your head during the pause, then apply the habit of predicting answers before you hear them to decide whether each gap takes a name, a transport word, a place, an object or a day.

The traps in this section are routines rather than corrections. The bus is what the shopper normally catches, Saturday is only today, the double-E spelling is the interviewer’s wrong guess, and the glass roof is impressive without being his favourite. Underline the time markers normally, today and just, because each answer travels with the present-tense fact and not the habit.

Spelling settles at least two marks: Leigh with -eigh after the L, and hairdresser with its double -er ending. Names in Section 1 are spelled out or corrected on the recording, so write letters as you hear them instead of trusting a familiar shape, and follow the listening spelling rules guide when the audio moves quickly.

Practice More Listening Tests

Mark the ten answers strictly, read the explanation for every miss, then log the result on the full Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 4 answers page, which holds the keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS drills the skills this section rewards: separating a speaker’s routines from today’s facts, respecting a one-word limit and spelling names exactly as they are dictated. Then try this interactive listening test: childcare services for another everyday-conversation practice under exam conditions, and continue to Section 2, the Business Exhibition Podcast listening test, to keep the full paper in order.